<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Stay With Me Here Now by faroresson</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29080572">Stay With Me Here Now</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/faroresson/pseuds/faroresson'>faroresson</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thirty Three Songs to Say I Love You [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, M/M, More comfort than hurt, Platonic Cuddling, Pre-Relationship, Scenes pulled from both game and anime, except not really, what can I say? I'm a sap</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:46:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29080572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/faroresson/pseuds/faroresson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yosuke had known Yu for 7, almost 8 months now, and he wasn't what he expected. He never expected that Yu would see his darkest parts and stay, even help him through them; even though he would in a heart beat, he never expected to be asked to do the same.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thirty Three Songs to Say I Love You [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2124834</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stay With Me Here Now</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Yosuke had heard about the transfer student, he had expected one of two things. The first being a pretty girl with all the worldliness and fashion sense that comes from the big city, the second being a guy like him, outcast and alone and desperate to go back to Tokyo. Instead, he and Inaba had gotten Yu Narukami. When it came to Yosuke’s expectations, Yu fell into a little of column A and a little of column B; Yu was a guy, and aloof as you’d expect from a city kid, and he was pretty. From an objective standpoint, of course! The dude had girls blushing and stuttering his first day here. Sure, it led to King Moron calling him some kind of whore, which in all honesty would have been funnier if Yosuke had been able to focus on it.</p><p>However, what never could have been expected was the transfer student pulling him into another dimension via a TV. And when it turned out that the Midnight Channel rumor was linked to that other world, and those seemed to be linked to two murders, shit only got heavier. The assembly that morning about Saki’s death hit Yosuke hard. The news had shaken him to his very core and suddenly he couldn’t feel any more broken. </p><p>Then, he had convinced Yu and Chie to return to the TV world. Armed with a golf club, two wrenches, and a broken lifeline Yosuke and Yu had followed Teddie to a twisted and dilapidated Konishi Liquors. Hearing Saki’s father berate her was hard, and Saki’s true opinion of him was devastating, but what hurt the most was his own voice.</p><p>“You just wanted something to do, and using Saki’s death was a perfect excuse!” it, his shadow, had said. And in part it was true, and that was the worst part. Despite the fact that both Yu and Teddie were encouraging him to accept the shadow, the fact that Yu had gone up against the monster alone, Yosuke felt himself worried that his internal shame would scare off the closest thing he had to a new friend.</p><p>But no. Yu was still there, and helped him back up from where he collapsed and walked him back to the exit.</p><p>Between dungeon crawling, solving murders and the trials and tribulations of second year of high school, somehow Yosuke had managed to stay sane and nurture a friendship with the Investigation Team. Within that, he was closest to Yu. The guy had seen his darkest side and had been the one to encourage him to accept it. Hell, Yu had -metaphorically, of course- held his hand as he walked through one of the darkest times of his life. Coming to terms with Saki’s death and wanting to move on while also having to learn who he was outside of that was a lot for Yosuke to handle.</p><p>Suddenly, he was sobbing into Yu’s collar. His Partner, the closest thing he had to an anchor, had just held him that day. He protested weakly, at first, though the break in his voice gave away the insincerity of the protest. It helped that Yu had just secured his grip, and that he never cared about what guys were supposed to do. On that day, Yosuke cried the most he had ever cried since he was a child. He cried for Saki, he cried for Naoki, for their parents. He cried for himself, in part to really take a minute to grieve, and in part because he felt truly safe for the first time since he moved to Inaba with Yu’s quiet coos of comfort and the gentle circles he rubbed into the small of Yosuke’s back acting like the last shout of Jericho, bringing the walls around his heart that locked his emotions in down.</p><p>After Nanako’s kidnapping, and hospitalization, their positions were reversed. They were standing outside Aiya’s, and Yu had just assured the Investigation Team that all would be well and they all said their goodbyes. Yosuke wasn’t the first to head towards home, but he also wasn’t the last. However, something possessed him to stay, even just to make sure that his partner was okay. Yu was staring up at the sky, the line of his shoulders was tense. Yosuke had barely thought of what to say when he noticed Yu’s resolve crumble, and he found himself with an armful of Partner.</p><p>There was no hesitation in Yosuke’s movements, he secured Yu into a tight embrace, allowing his partner to collapse into him. It was there they stood, outside of Aiya’s on that cold November night, Yosuke unknowingly bringing himself up to Yu’s usual position of stone tower while the other lets himself be wholly human. Though Yosuke can’t fully understand the words being heaved and sobbed into his neck, the way Yu’s fingers twisted desperately into his coat spoke volumes. “Stay with me,” it said, “I’m scared. I can’t do this alone.” So, when Yu’s crying settled to shaky breaths and sniffling, Yosuke pulled himself back from Yu.</p><p>The sight of his normally composed partner looking at him with puffy eyes and a broken expression caused a sharp stab in his chest. “Come on, Yu,’ Yosuke sighs, “let’s get you home.”</p><p>Yu managed a sorrowful half-smile, “Right…”</p><p>When the pair made it to the empty Dojima house, Yosuke was more than willing when Yu gently took his hand and guided him over the threshold. They quietly removed their shoes and coats at the door, Yosuke ushering Yu to his room to change into pyjamas while he started the kettle to make coffee. After a few minutes, the kettle was steaming and clicked off right as Yu padded into the living room with his blankets. With very few bumps along the way, Yosuke poured two mugs of instant coffee, two spoons of sugar for Yu, three for him, and delivered them to the living room where Yu was sitting despondent on the couch, eyeing the TV.</p><p>“Hey, hey, Partner,” Yosuke coaxes, like he’s trying to soothe a spooked horse, “hey, it’s alright. I’m gonna sit next to you, okay?”</p><p>Yu doesn’t respond, wiping his eyes with the heel of his hand. Yosuke sits, carefully sliding the steaming mug of coffee in front of Yu, who accepts it with shaking hands. A heavy silence settles over the house again, tension pulling at the pair’s hearts and minds as they sip away at instant coffee.</p><p>To break the silence, Yosuke groaned dramatically, “Gah! Fine!” He then placed his mug on the table, gingerly doing the same to Yu’s, and got up from the couch and killed the lights. Yosuke then, by the light of his phone screen, returned to his spot on the couch and very slowly guided Yu to lay down, and covered him with the blanket. Yu still hadn’t said anything, but didn’t fight and merely rolled himself to lay on his side, head resting comfortably on Yosuke’s lap.</p><p>Every so often, Yu would shiver with a fragmented inhale and Yosuke responded by carding his hand through Yu’s hair, occasionally using his index and middle finger to trace soothing lines and shapes on Yu’s neck. The tightness in Yu’s body visibly and audibly melted away with a sigh. Not long after, the rise and fall of Yu’s comforter evening out as he started succumbing to post-cry exhaustion. But that was when Yosuke noticed the time, it was getting late. He managed to maneuver himself out from under Yu’s head without the latter stirring. Or so he thought.</p><p>“Don’t go…” Yu whispered, his voice raw from crying, “Please, Partner… I don’t want to be alone.”</p><p>And who was Yosuke to deny that?</p><p>So instead of giving Yu one last pat on the head and heading home, he nodded to his partner and put their half empty mugs of cold coffee in the sink. Then, he carefully worked his way back to the couch and sat in front of it, aiming to just hold Yu’s hand until he actually fell asleep and snag an extra blanket out of the linen closet and sleep on the floor. But Yu had to sidle himself as close to the back of the couch as possible and patted the little bit of space in front of him with a pleading look, so Yosuke quickly left a voicemail with his parents about his whereabouts, sighed helplessly and climbed up next to Yu. He considered saying something about how this was just because he didn’t want Yu to feel completely abandoned but bit his tongue, it didn’t take a genius to know that that wasn’t what Yu needed to hear right now.</p><p>He had forgotten how warm Yu was. It had already been a solid month since their heart to heart overlooking the town, and he thought that he would never have to think about what it felt like to be held again. Yet here he was, on Dojima’s couch, laying half on top of Yu, head on his partner’s shoulder, one of Yu’s arms wrapping around his waist to hold him secure. Despite the fact he was there to comfort Yu in his time of need, Yosuke couldn’t help but feel like he was the one being comforted again. Maybe it was the fact that Yu was holding him rather than the other way around, or just how safe and secure he felt under that blanket right now. However, Yosuke remembered that he was here to support his partner now. And if what he was told earlier was any indication, Yu just didn’t want to be alone, so Yosuke finagled his headphones over his ears and started a playlist on his phone. He nuzzled into Yu’s neck, getting as comfortable as he could, and let the sounds of cello and drums lull him into sleep. Just before he finally drifted off, he gave Yu a gentle squeeze as assurance, “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll be here in the morning.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I got to Yosuke's rank 8 event recently, (I may be speedrunning his S.Link, only a little though) and I may or may not have teared up. Then when binging P4 The Animation, I genuinely did cry at Yu's breakdown over Nanako. So, despite this trope being done to death, it wouldn't leave my head and now it's here.</p><p>Also, dear readers, has anybody actually listened to the playlist to pick out which song applies to which fic? (I am constantly reordering the playlist as I write these to make it easy lol) Or do you have any ideas for oneshots based off of what's there?</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>